Alpine has expressed the hope that the radical Alpenglow Hy4 concept could be the basis for the creation of a production model with the first hydrogen-powered engine.

The French automaker brought its radical Alpenglow Hy4 concept to the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, planning to complete demonstration laps at the famous circuit. Unfortunately, an electrical fault prevented Alpine from taking it to the track. However, the automaker stated that we may see more of the concept in the future and that it may also include a road model.

Why?” Alpine design chief Anthony Willen told Autocar when asked if the car would go into production: “Why not on the road? We want to protect both ways [згоряння водню та електричний акумулятор]. Maybe we can make a small expedition of these cars on the roads. It might be true.”

The original Alpenglow concept was based on a special frame and was a single-seater. The updated Hy4 concept is more realistic with its two-seat cockpit and Ligier LMP3 chassis. Villain said that the brand always had the idea of ​​a production version in mind when developing the concept.

The Hy4 Concept is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that runs on hydrogen and produces 335 hp. However, Alpine is developing a new hydrogen-powered V6 engine that will be included in the updated Hy4 concept later this year. This engine will be more powerful than the four-cylinder engine and is being developed with a racing engine and possibly even a road-legal version in mind.

It will not be easy to make a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine suitable for production. According to Pierre-Jean Tardy, Alpine’s chief hydrogen engineer, the explosion will be difficult to control and the engine will need to run much more smoothly than a gas-powered engine.

“The depletion of hydrogen results in lower-temperature exhaust gases, which means for the turbocharger: [вам потрібно більше працювати з компресором] “Less energy is provided to the turbine,” he said. “There’s an even greater imbalance between the turbine and the compressor than in a diesel engine. This can cause some lag issues that you’ll have to address by other means.”